1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a digital image reproduction apparatus including a scanner unit, a printer unit, a memory, and an operator control unit integrated in the apparatus, the operator control unit being provided with an input device and a display that permit a user to give operator control commands to the apparatus. The invention further relates to such a digital reproduction apparatus that includes a network connection unit for coupling to a network for the purpose of communication with a digital external environment having at least a number of workstations of users, and a management unit connected to the scanner unit, printer unit, memory and network connection unit, and, via the network connection unit, to the workstations.
2. Description of Related Art
Reproduction apparatuses of the kind described above are generally known. Such apparatuses can be used for copying documents and for printing digital image data files made in a workstation.
Scanner devices are also known which are coupled to a network and which can send digital data files generated during scanning to a pre-programmed address on the network, usually a workstation of a user.
A network is provided with one or more fileservers which provide interim storage and retention of the digital data if a destination address does not answer because the apparatus connected thereto is not ready for reception or possibly not even switched on. A data file is thus first sent from the dispatch address via the network to the fileserver and then from the latter to the destination address.
A number of problems can arise with such conventional systems, particularly if the files sent are large. First of all, a file is sent over the network twice so that the load on the network and the file server is relatively large. Secondly, if an apparatus coupled to a reception address is not ready for reception, the files are stored on the file server disk, which can thus fill up, so that the functioning of the entire network is obstructed or even made impossible. Thirdly, in a scanning process, when the disk of the receiving workstation becomes full, the scanning process has to be terminated, and this obstructs the progress of the work.
In addition, data traffic monitoring by the owner of the data files may be inadequate, on the one hand because print files are printed immediately even if he is not present, and secondly scan files are immediately available at his workstation even if he is not present.
It is therefore desirable to more effectively monitor the traffic of digital image data from and to the reproduction apparatus so that the above problems are eliminated or at least so reduced that they do not obstruct the functioning of the entire digital network.